


Mistakes Were Made

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Inktober for Writers, 2019 [13]
Category: Perfect Strangers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 15:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21018200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: In which Jennifer learns that the old chestnut “it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission” is not always true.





	Mistakes Were Made

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by today’s Inktober prompt (“ash”) and takes place between season 4 and 5.

The calm Chicago morning that Balki had been enjoying had abruptly been interrupted by a frantic knocking on the apartment door. Concerned, he opened it, revealing Jennifer and Mary Anne. Jennifer looked absolutely terrified about something, and Mary Anne was trying to comfort her.

“Where’s Larry!?” Jennifer exclaimed, too frantic to remember to say hello.

“He’s in the shower,” Balki said, stunned at her current state. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out; Balki was reminded of Larry whenever his anxiety took over and he turned into an utter mess. Jennifer’s anxiety issues usually weren’t as severe as Larry’s, but today seemed to be the exception.

“I did… something terrible… And Larry is going to be _furious_ when he finds out…” she managed to say, at last. “Balki, what do you do when you do something really, really terrible and you need to show how sorry you are?”

“Well, on Mypos, we usually sit among the ashes to exhibit the sorrow for our shame…” Balki trailed off as the look on Jennifer’s face told him that wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. “…What happened?”

Jennifer attempted to say something again, but couldn’t. Wordlessly, she cringed and pointed out the window. Balki walked over and look, and immediately saw the cause of her distress—a new and very noticeable dent in the driver’s side door of Larry’s cherished Mustang.

“Oh, po po…” Balki sighed.

“We all know how much Larry loves that car,” Mary Anne added, as Jennifer buried her face in her hands.

“No kidding—he’s no Roger Taylor, but that car does mean a lot to him,” Balki said, shaking his head. “How did this happen?”

“My car wouldn’t start again, and I had to run an errand, so I borrowed Larry’s. I parked next to a streetlight, but I didn’t realize it was one of those streetlights with those wide, square concrete bases—and I couldn’t see it from the driver’s seat. I opened the door, and…” She gestured out the window once more and let out a little cry of frustration.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay,” Balki said, giving her a hug to calm her down. “You are not the first to dent Cousin Larry’s car. When I was learning to drive, I dented the fender.”

“How did he take it?” Jennifer asked.

“…Not very good,” Balki admitted. “But once his meltdown was over, he was okay!”

Jennifer let out another little cry again, prompting Mary Anne to give Balki a look as she hugged Jennifer now.

“That was the wrong thing to say,” Balki realized aloud. “But it’s true. You both know how Cousin Larry is—he overreacts, but once he pulls himself back in, he’s okay again!”

“Balki, it’s not just the dent!” Jennifer wailed. “He didn’t even know I was borrowing the Mustang!”

It was at this point that Balki noticed that Larry’s keys were still on the wall hook.

“…How did you drive the car without the keys…?” he asked.

Jennifer looked absolutely mortified.

“Tell him,” Mary Anne ordered.

“Well…” Jennifer said. “You know that Mary Anne and I have very time-sensitive work schedules; if we need to be on time for a flight, we can’t be running around trying to get transportation if my car won’t start. And my car is a heap of junk—always in the shop, always having issues starting…”

“Jennifer…” Balki said, sternly.

“Okay, okay,” she said, getting to the point. “You remember the time you gave me the keys to the Mustang?”

“You bet I do—Cousin Larry was so mad at me because we didn’t ask him first…”

“Well… I just assumed… Well, you know how Larry can never refuse me anything, so I just… Well, rather than going to the trouble of asking each time, especially if I was in a hurry to get to the airport…” She held back a sob of guilt and produced another set of keys from her pocket.

“She had a duplicate set made,” Mary Anne finished.

“_Jennifer_!” Balki exclaimed, shocked.

“I know! I knew it was wrong!” Jennifer cried. “But all I could think of was how Larry’s Mustang was so much better and more reliable than my car, and I know if I asked Larry, he’d say ‘yes,’ anyway, so I figured, why go through all that each time I needed to borrow it? I’d only use it on the days he wouldn’t need to use it to go to work in the mornings anyway. And everything was fine—until today!”

Balki shook his head in disbelief. Usually, it was Larry who dug himself into a pit of lies; now it was clear that Jennifer wasn’t all that different from Larry.

“So what now…?” Balki asked.

“Well, I have a plan—”

“Oh, God…” Balki moaned.

“I need you to stall Larry long enough for me to get the Mustang to the shop and get the dent fixed!”

“Well, that’s going to be hard; he needs to go in to the _Chronicle_ today and do some last-minute rewrites for the weekend edition,” Balki said.

“What!?” Jennifer shrieked.

“I told you—you should just tell him!” Mary Anne said.

“Oh, sure!” Jennifer exclaimed. “Just tell him that I dented his most prized possession after borrowing it for the umpteenth time without asking!? I might as well sit among the ashes; that’s all our relationship will be reduced to after he finds out—ashes!”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Balki exclaimed. “Cousin Larry loves that car, yes—but he loves you more! Once he has finished his meltdown, he’ll realize it.”

“But what if he doesn’t!?” Jennifer cried. “Balki, do you realize he’s well within his rights to not only break up with me, but _then_ take me to small claims court!?” She trembled. As odd as it seemed, Larry had been her longest-lasting steady relationship, and she had felt more comfortable with him than any of her previous beaus; in spite of the trouble Larry got into (sometimes dragging her along with him), she knew that he meant well—that was evident in the look of utter devotion in his eyes whenever he looked her way. And he never, ever once overstepped his bounds, which was more than she could say for some of her exes—more than one relationship had been terminated on her end for them attempting to betray her trust. How she could have taken Larry for granted like this, she didn’t know, but the thought that was terrifying her most of all was the image of that devotion in his eyes being replaced by revulsion, even if she deserved it—for what had she done, if not betraying his trust as well, albeit in a different manner?

Balki and Mary Anne were still trying, in vain, to reassure her, but her panic suddenly increased as they heard the shower turn off in the bathroom. Jennifer sat on the couch, her face buried in her hands once again, shaking like a leaf.

Larry was whistling as he emerged, clad in a bathrobe; he greeted the girls good morning before registering he was in his bathrobe and shyly ducked into his room to change. It was only after he reappeared, fully dressed, that he noted the somber mood of the room, and Jennifer’s distraught state.

“What’s going on…?” he asked. “Jen? Is everything alright?”

“Oh, Larry!” she cried. “I—”

“Jennifer, I know this would be less of a blow coming from you, but I must be the one to tell him!” Balki interrupted. “Cousin, I had to grab something from the market while you were in the shower; but my car didn’t start, so I borrowed yours, and I accidentally got a dent in the door!”

“You did _what_!?” Larry yelled, his eyes wide, missing Jennifer’s stunned look as she realized Balki was taking the heat for her.

“I am so sorry, Cousin; I will pay for the repair!”

“You couldn’t have waited to ask me!?” Larry demanded. “Nooooo, you just _had_ to go to the market right that instant!?” He made an effort to calm down for a moment before turning to Jennifer and Mary Anne. “Ladies, can you excuse us, please? My cousin and I have a few important things to discuss.”

Jennifer glanced at Balki, who gave her a reassuring nod. Sighing, she got up, heading for the door, not missing Mary Anne’s disapproving look as she followed.

As the door closed behind them, Jennifer flinched as she heard Larry continue to rant—

“You _know_ how much that car means to me! What was it that you needed so badly that it was worth getting a dent in my door!?”

“…Uh… I don’ remember now.”

Larry’s response was a frustrated growl through gritted teeth.

“We have had this conversation _So! Many! Times!_” he said. “And you just—!”

“Larry, stop!” Jennifer exclaimed, opening the apartment door. “It wasn’t Balki; it was me!”

Larry was still facing Balki; she couldn’t see his face, but she did see his shoulders go rigid.

“There’s no need to cover for me, Jennifer!” Balki said, hastily. “Cousin Larry and I can work this out!”

“Larry, don’t listen to him; he’s the one covering for me. Look…” She held up the duplicate Mustang keys. “I’m the one with the extra set of keys—not him. I’ve been borrowing your car whenever something happens to mine for a year now…”

But Larry didn’t look; he didn’t turn around.

“Balki? Will you and Mary Anne please excuse us?” He paused. “…And I’m sorry, Buddy.”

Balki nodded and headed out the door, pausing to give Jennifer a reassuring nod again, though for a different reason. Jennifer stared at Larry’s back, the unpleasant feeling in her gut increasing as he crossed to the window and surveyed the damage to the Mustang’s door.

“…Larry, I’m so sorry…” she said. “I shouldn’t have had the duplicate keys made, and I shouldn’t have kept doing this.”

She walked over and took his hand, placing the duplicate keys there, but he still didn’t move.

“…Larry…?” she asked, quietly.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to turn around, bracing herself for the look of revulsion she dreaded but still deserved. But when he turned to face her, there was no revulsion in his eyes—just a deep look of hurt.

Somehow, that seemed worse.

“It’s fine,” he finally said, quietly.

It was just as she’d thought; he couldn’t refuse her anything—and that included forgiveness.

“Larry—”

“No—really. It took me a moment to remind myself, but it’s the same thing I went through when Balki dented the fender years ago. It’s just a car, and I shouldn’t have put it over someone’s feelings—Balki’s, or yours.” He looked her in the eyes now, and she could feel her heart give a twist as she saw nothing but genuine concern in them. “You’re okay? You’re not hurt?”

She nodded, and then, overcome, hugged him.

“Oh, Larry, how can I make it up to you?”

He seemed surprised for a moment, but then hugged her back.

“Just… Just ask me next time, huh?”

She nodded.

“I promise,” she assured him. _And I’ll never take you for granted again_, she silently added.

Larry finally managed a wan smile and then turned to the door.

“Balki? Mary Anne? You two can stop listening at the door and come back in!”

The door opened, revealing the two with very sheepish grins on their faces. And even Jennifer smiled now.

She’d been fortunate that day—and in more ways than one.


End file.
